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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25007662">Stress Fracture</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwoodMaxProductions/pseuds/SwoodMaxProductions'>SwoodMaxProductions</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hyrule Warriors 2 AU [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Exhaustion, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forsaken is Link from my Winds of Change WW AU, Friendship, Gen, Genderless Sword People Crying, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Literal Sleeping Together, Men Crying, Original Link, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Sleepy Cuddles, Sword spirits are a lot like cats, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Touch-Starved, collapse, cuddle puddle, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:15:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25007662</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwoodMaxProductions/pseuds/SwoodMaxProductions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Completely exhausted and on the verge of collapse, Ghirahim is confronted in the night by Chosen Heroes. They’re there to help. And he desperately needs help.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>The Links &amp; Ghirahim</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hyrule Warriors 2 AU [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stress Fracture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>MY FIRST LINKED UNIVERSE FIC!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Wars and Sky, especially Sky, had told them about the entity known as Demon Lord Ghirahim. He was terrifyingly powerful. He was bloodthirsty, vicious, calculating, unhinged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was also bracing himself against a tree just a few yards away, looking as though he were about to collapse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had seen Ghirahim a few times since the Alliance. But never like this. His facade of perfection was gone; he looked like he’d been dragged for miles by a herd of wild horses, his normally immaculate hair almost pitifully disheveled and his predatory elegance displaced by deep, overwhelming exhaustion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cautiously, Wild crept forward. Ghirahim jumped. The fact that he hadn’t detected the three Links watching him spoke rather distressing volumes about his current state. With a ripple of reality, a sword was in his hand and pointed at Wild within seconds. Wild, understandably, froze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sky… child…? No... which are you? And what do you want with me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, I— well, we’re all Link… but… I’m, uh, I’m Hyrule, and… This is Wild, and that’s Wind…” He knew that Wild was one of the worst of them when it came to talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ghirahim glared. There was spite in his eyes, but also fear. Like a cornered animal. The sword remained raised. He expected them to try to hurt him...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The second question still stands. What. Do you want.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...To help,” said Wild softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Help who?! Because I know damn well this is a trap!” Ghirahim scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Ghirahim…? Are… are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Playing the fool is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to work, despite your FLAWLESS typecasting,” Ghirahim hissed, “You are servants of Hylia. Your entire reason to </span>
  <em>
    <span>exist </span>
  </em>
  <span>is to kill my master and I. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And if you take ONE STEP CLOSER IT WILL BE YOUR LAST.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wild froze again. Ghirahim, however, was noticeably trembling, just slightly. He was in no condition for a fight. And he knew it. Without warning, the sword spirit sank to his knees, clawing fruitlessly at the tree he’d been leaning on in an effort to stay upright. The blade slipped from his grasp, and Wild took that as his cue to try to approach Ghirahim again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“</b>
  <b>
    <em>NO! </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>DON’T TOUCH ME—!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ghirahim physically recoiled, scrambling backwards away from Wild, ending up flat on his back and sitting back up with a dagger in his hand. The terror in his huge mahogany eyes was </span>
  <em>
    <span>palpable.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-hey— Hey… We’re not gonna hurt you,” said Wild.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others recognized his tone. It was the same tone of voice he used when soothing a frightened horse...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to put down my weapons… See?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other Links followed Wild’s lead, and a tiny bit of the unbearable tension eased from Ghirahim’s body. Slowly, Wild reached out and put an arm around him, and the dagger and sword vanished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the seconds ticked agonizingly by, the gentle touch seemed to trigger… some kind of change. A realization.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ghirahim weakly returned Wild’s embrace, and Wind and Hyrule began their approach. As they reached out to him, they could see something glowing, something akin to a distorted magical aura in pseudo-liquid form.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ghirahim was crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stress, exhaustion, and the weight of millennia of physical and psychological trauma had finally caused the usually debonair spirit to just… break. Ghirahim pressed his pallid face into Wild’s tunic, sobbing. He held onto the amnesiac knight almost as though he were afraid to let go, in desperate, </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperate </span>
  </em>
  <span>need of comfort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” whispered Wild, “it’s okay…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of them gathered around him, staying close by his side. None of them knew how long it was before his sobs trailed off into the occasional whimper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...We could take you back to our camp,” offered Hyrule, “you really need to rest. ...Would you like to do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ghirahim shakily brought his head up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Yes…” came his barely audible reply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Surprisingly, his makeup wasn’t smudged at all— </span>
  <em>
    <span>it wasn’t makeup.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Realization hit Wild like a charging Lynel. He had seen Ghirahim’s colors before— on silver monsters. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It was discoloration caused by a deep infusion of Malice. Ghirahim was quite possibly its very first victim.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took all three of them to help the exhausted spirit to his feet, a little reminder that he was actually made of solid metal. They and some other Links had made camp in a small grotto nearby. They got some surprised looks upon returning, but nothing more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why… why are you doing this…?” Ghirahim whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Links exchanged a few sad glances. He really didn’t understand…? There seemed to be some kind of underlying programming in sword spirits, trying to keep them from realizing that fate could be defied, and it hurt them with Ghirahim even more than it had with Fi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because we care. You’re an ally. We aren’t just... cogs in a machine. And neither are you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wind’s words, especially the last few, left Ghirahim in stunned silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ghirahim…?” said Wars. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We found him out there, he’s… he really needs some rest,” Hyrule explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ghirahim!” cheered a boy who looked… almost identical to Wind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only real differences were in his clothes, including a sash that was distinctly Gerudo in design...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, uh… do you know me… yet? They call me Forsaken!” he chirped as he began rearranging the bedrolls. “I’ve actually met you before, but I don’t know if you’ve met me… Here, you can be in the middle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Of what…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Forsaken smiled up at Ghirahim as he lay down in the new nest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Us!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The adorable child and the availability of a good place to finally rest coaxed Ghirahim into the nest as well. One by one, the Links got ready for bed and settled in, warm and cozy and peaceful… Ghirahim closed his eyes. It all felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the proximity, the peace, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>care.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He could feel Forsaken brushing his hair, melting the tension from his body. The last thing Ghirahim could recall was patting Forsaken’s fluffy head before the inexorable pull of his physical limitations enveloped his mind in the dark, soft, welcoming folds of sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For once in his life, Sky woke up early.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked over, and sure enough, there was Ghirahim, nestled among them, curled into a loose ball and peacefully, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorably</span>
  </em>
  <span>, asleep. His hand was on Forsaken’s head, and Wind was neatly curled up in the crook of his legs. Sky smiled. He’d known in his heart that something was wrong even as he first encountered the self-styled Demon Lord at Skyview Temple. He just hadn’t realized it yet. More encounters, and more information learned about the spirit’s tyrannical master, painted a horrifying, tragic picture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt so good to see him like this: snuggled among people who cared, happily asleep. Forsaken, bless him, had known about Ghirahim’s touch starvation. He was as clever and creative as he was sweet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sky smiled at the sleeping form of Ghirahim before shutting his eyes and going back to sleep.</span>
</p>
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